Study Desk

"The kings of Canaan came and fought, at Taanach near Megiddo's springs, but they carried off no silver treasures.

" Lord , may all your enemies die like Sisera! But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!" Then there was peace in the land for forty years.

I told you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.' But you have not listened to me."

"Sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt'? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites."

"But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!"

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father's household and the people of the town.

But Joash shouted to the mob that confronted him, "Why are you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar!"

prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised."

Then Gideon said to God, "Please don't be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew."

So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.

But the Lord told Gideon, "There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not."

So Gideon collected the provisions and rams' horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him. The Midianite camp was in the valley just below Gideon.

But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah.

But Gideon replied, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't even the leftover grapes of Ephraim's harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiezer?

But the officials of Succoth replied, "Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army."

From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer.

Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors.

Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid.

But Gideon replied, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you!

Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.